In the four years since its last quadrennial report was published, Canada has updated many of its programs and policy action in response to fundamental shifts in the cultural sector, notably rapid technological advances and changes in how Canadians produce and consume cultural expressions and content. The Government of Canada continues to take an active role in fostering a diversified cultural ecosystem through a broad array of tools to help nurture the development of cultural content and expressions, and to ensure their distribution.
Canada’s cultural toolkit is vast, spanning from policies, funding programs, and tax credits to regulations and legislation. The Government of Canada and the governments of its provinces and territories have adopted various measures to ensure sound planning and accountability in the artistic and cultural fields. Each level of government is also equipped with a variety of institutions such as funding agencies, arts councils, and public broadcasters. Domestic measures at all levels of government aim to provide continued and sustainable support to the arts and culture sector.
Furthermore, governments are working hand-in-hand with public and private partners to encourage and enable the creation of artistic and cultural content that reflects Canada’s diversity, and to facilitate access to that content by domestic and international audiences. Through innovative public-private partnerships such as the Canada Media Fund and Factor/Musicaction, which help to develop and finance the production of audiovisual content and sound recordings by Canadian creators, Canada aims to maintain a sustainable and competitive environment for its cultural industries.
The Government of Canada has also taken action to promote the diversity of cultural expressions internationally. These measures include ensuring mobility for professionals in the cultural field, signing audiovisual treaties for coproductions, and supporting capacity-building, information sharing, training and technical assistance through projects tailored to the specific needs of beneficiary countries. Canada actively promotes the objectives of the Convention when negotiating international trade agreements, a longstanding practice which has been replicated by other major trade partners. Several cultural institutions also implement measures to promote international cultural cooperation by establishing funding programs to increase capacity for inviting foreign artists and encouraging partnerships with artistic and cultural companies abroad. Examples of innovative practices are found throughout Canada’s second report.
Through these efforts, Canada shows its engagement in the implementation of the Convention at the national and international levels.
In terms of outlook for the future, Canada will continue to reflect on the impact of digital technologies on the diversity of cultural expressions. Canada firmly believes that the Convention remains as relevant and useful as ever in a digital environment, an idea which is expanded upon throughout this report. While important challenges lie ahead as the world is filled with an abundance of cultural content in various formats, Parties to the Convention can now share the innovative tools that they have developed to fulfill the objectives of this Convention, and learn from each other’s best practices.